Archaeology TheFoxPosts.com

Four coins dating back almost 1,900 years, to when the Jewish people launched a revolt against the Roman Empire, have been discovered in the Judaean desert . The coins were found in the Mazuq Ha-he'teqim Nature Reserve, which is located in the West Bank. They date to the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt (A.D. 132 to 135), when the Jewish people rose up against the Roman Empire . Although the revolt had some initial success, the Romans' counterattack resulted in mass slaughter. "Five hundred and eighty thousand men were slain in the various raids and battles, and the number of those that perished by famine, disease and fire was past finding out … thus nearly the whole of Judaea was made desolate," Roman historian Cassius Dio wrote in his book "Roman History " (translation by Earnest Cary). While the accuracy of the death toll he gives is a matter of some debate, there is no doubt that it was very high and many caves where refugees hid from the Roman arm...

A “very special and unique collection” of ancient Roman coins have been unearthed at an equally special 5,000-year-old archaeological site in Turkey. More than 650 priceless coins were found at Aizanoi, which is located in the Kutahya province and has been compared to the famous ancient city of Ephesus. A Jug of Rare Ancient Roman Coins “These 651 silver coins, from the era of Emperor Augustus, constitute a very special and unique collection,” Elif Özer, a professor at Pamukkale University and the archaeologist in charge of the dig at Aizanoi, told Anadolu Agency . The ancient coin collection is comprised of 439 Roman silver denarius coins and 212 cistophorus coins which come from the ancient Greek city of Pergamon. The archaeological team believes that the coins may have belonged to a high-ranking soldier. “These silver coins are a ‘coin album’ of the last century of the Roman Republic period. It constitutes a very special and unique collection,” Özer said . The prof...